Hundreds of Jewish people headed to a pro-Israel rally in Washington, DC, were left stranded at an airport after bus drivers staged a ‘deliberate and malicious walkout’ and refused to take them to the massive gathering.
Protesters were left waiting at Dulles Airport for more than three after their transportation failed to show up, the Jewish Federation of Detroit said.
The organization had chartered three flights from the Motor City to take around 900 Israel supporters to the rally on Tuesday.
But the counter-protest by the drivers meant that just a handful made it to the march after many of the buses failed to arrive at the scheduled 10.30am pick-up time.
A ‘significant’ number of people did not make it to the march at the capital, David Kurzmann, senior director of community affairs at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit told the Detroit News.
Hundreds of Jewish activists were prevented from attending a pro Israel rally in Washington, DC, after buses due to transport them from Dulles Airport to the march failed to show
The transport never arrived due to a ‘deliberate and malicious’ walkout by the bus drivers, the Jewish Federation of Detroit said
‘We have learned from the bus company that this was caused by a deliberate and malicious walk-off of drivers,’ he said.
‘Fortunately, many were able to travel to the march, and we are grateful to the drivers of those buses that arrived.
‘While we are deeply dismayed by this disgraceful action, our resolve to proudly stand in solidarity with the people of Israel, to condemn antisemitism and to demand the return of every hostage held by Hamas has never been greater.’
One man who was unable to attend the rally called the action ‘against our democracy’.
‘The freedom to assemble is a constitutionally protected right. Anti-Semitism is alive and well,’ he said.
‘We never made it to the rally, we never made it past the tarmac. That’s I guess how things work when you want to attend a peaceful protest.’
He also cited other alleged examples of other people being denied access to the rally.
‘This is not an isolated event,’ he added. ‘Flights from many other cities got canceled or didn’t make it off the tarmac due to similar anti-Semitic corruption.’
Activists were left waiting for hours before being told they would have to re-embark their planes and return to Detroit, causing many to miss the rally
The group had flown from Detroit on three planes chartered by the Jewish Federation of Detroit carrying around 900 people
The activists were on their way to a pro-Israel rally in Washington D.C. which saw more than 200,000 supporters turn out at the National Mall
The group had been hoping to travel down to the National Mall to take part in calls for the release of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas during the October 7 attacks that killed 1,400.
The march was also in response to large protests across the globe denouncing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in the days since, which has killed more than 11,000, according to officials in the country.
The rally in D.C. saw more than 200,000 pro-Israel supporters gather in solidarity with the country.
State Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) was also among those denied an opportunity to be part of a ‘tremendous display of support … for the hostages and a strong rebuke of antisemitism.’
The Detroit News reports the representative was left waiting for three hours before deplaning and loading onto a bus for 30 minutes, before he was told to get back on the plane.
‘I’m still awaiting all of the details of why the bus drivers didn’t show up,’ Moss said
‘I’ve spent my tenure in the Legislature fighting discrimination when seeking goods or services that are denied based on identity or affiliation. There are a lot of questions and we deserve to know the answers.’
After waiting several hours, those who did not make it onto the limited buses began an impromptu protest of their own on the tarmac.
Eventually, they were forced to get back onto their planes as chartered flights cannot leave without pre-organized transport.